Like most children who grew up on the 80s and 90s, I had a steady diet of Jim Henson properties that have always managed to feed my nostalgia and serve as a barometer for the quality of children's television in this day and age. I was there, watching re-runs of The Muppet Show. Muppet Babies was regular viewing as part of the morning cartoon lineup. I sat through The Dark Crystal at a time when I was probably too young for it but watched it regardless! I was frightened more by David Bowie than I was any of the puppets in Labyrinth!
But, as is the custom of nostalgic cycles, streaming services started mining Henson properties for reboots, sequels, and prequels. Was I skeptical of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance? Of course! Did it immediately grab me with the quality of the puppets, writing, and earnestness? Oh yeah! Do I think Netflix should have given it a fighting chance of succeeding? A thousand times Yes! The most frustrating thing about this era of nostalgia farming is that the good ones, the ones where the people behind the scenes clearly care and are wearing that love on their sleeves, are immediately dropped when the bottom line doesn't make instant returns to the corporate overlords.
I know, I'll likely be entering my "Old Millennial Yells at Cloud" phase fairly soon, but before that happens, let's talk about yet another property that got picked for rebooting: Fraggle Rock!
For those who don't have a Pavlovian response of clapping after the phrase "Dance your cares away" is uttered, Fraggle Rock was a children's television show that aired from 1983 to 1987 on various channels across the globe and followed the adventures of Gobo, Red, Mokey, Wembley, and Boober as they experienced slice of life events within the Fraggle community, dodged discovery by the Gorgs and "silly creatures" of the human world, and continuously damaged the construction projects of the Doozers for a quick snack. Gobo also receives regular postcards from his Uncle Matt as he explored "outer space," aka, the human world.
Trust me, that all makes sense if you ever watched the original series.
Fraggle Rock featured original music, a variety of puppeteering styles and methods perfected by the Henson Company, and never shied away from tackling heavier themes regardless of its status as a show for children. If you don't get chills listening to Red and Boober talk about death in "Marooned," even as an adult, then I don't what to tell you. Some of us are built differently.
Cut to forty years later, and we now have Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, a reboot of the original premise that aired on AppleTV for two seasons, so far. Operating on the same idea of slice of life plus adventures with songs and lessons learned, the show has received a lot of praise for capturing the spirit of the 80s series, while also expanding on the lore of Fraggles, Gorgs, and Doozers. One of those lore expansions being Fraggle tails and their glowing capabilities.
In the original series, the fringe at the end of a Fraggle's tail, known as a baloobius, could flare up when a Fraggle was scared. In Back to the Rock, the biological response can also occur when a Fraggle is content with themself, which brings us to the episode, "The Glow," wherein Boober experiences his baloobius glowing, in a moment of contentment, and tries to hide it from his friends.
Personality wise, Boober is the most high strung, superstitious, and worrisome of the five leads, so for him to experience a change like that without explanation, it sets him on edge and makes the glow a fear-based response despite the original catalyst. In a desperate attempt to hide his baloobius, he uses the outer space artifact sent by Uncle Matt, the Bizzle of Secrets, a plastic water bottle to us silly creatures, to cover his tail. But alas, Uncle Matt also asked the Archivist to visit Fraggle Rock to inspect said bizzle and when she deduces the true problem affecting Boober, she reveals that her baloobius also glows and that he is not alone. As is the custom, the resolution comes through song, and it's a genuinely beautiful song enhanced by Cynthia Erivo's vocals as the Archivist.
Okay, let's unpack this:
There is an archivist amongst the Fraggles known as...the Archivist. Would I have preferred an actual name rather than defining her only by her job? Yes, but I have to work with what I've got.
The Archivist is requested, by Uncle Matt, to travel to Fraggle Rock from her home of Shhh Pond to inspect an artifact. This means she's on an appraisal project and has made effective and productive relationships with Fraggles outside of her profession. I really hope she doesn't make a habit of traveling to appraise artifacts one at a time because that seems unnecessarily dangerous given the path she takes in the episode. It's also blurring the line between archivist and museum curator, but again, I'm working with what's been presented to me.
The Archivist is femme and elderly but isn't a curmudgeon. It's so easy for television and movies and literally any medium to default to a cranky male character when depicting archivists. That the Fraggle Archivist is joyful, enthusiastic, and isn't a hindrance to the main characters or the plot is a novelty. Making her the solution to the problem is a damn miracle!
It's very rare to see archives professionals with a joyful disposition in pop culture. For some reason, loving the work you do or just having a more positive outlook on life is antithetical to how archivists are portrayed. Because God forbid you were thriving in your role or as a person. In "The Glow," the Archivist appears, for all intents and purposes, to be content and well-adjusted, which is why her baloobius glows. And as an elder Fraggle, she makes sure to guide the next generation, via Boober, to understand that there is nothing wrong with them if their baloobius glows; there's nothing wrong with feeling good about yourself. Within the context of the show, Boober is the last Fraggle anyone would expect to be satisfied or content, which is where the internal conflict stems from as he essentially deals with an identity crisis. It's only when the Archivist shows him how freeing and uplifting it is to embrace his glow - literally by flying in the air - that he accepts it as part of himself and stops trying to hide it from his friends. If you wanted an apt metaphor for a coming out story of any kind, by all means read the subtext!
And the only reason any of that happens is because of the Archivist. So, color me content with that outcome!
Also, look at this fashionable femme! If you wanted to glean any additional information about the Archivist's personality, look no further than her wardrobe! Sequins and beading on her flowing dress of bright green and orange, glittery glasses, rings and bracelets, and that gorgeous cape! The Archivist is so confident and extraordinarily beautiful in her attire and I wish more properties would do the same for their archivists.
Let more archivists dress like the Fraggle archivist!
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